Tag Archives: Arsenal

10 reasons why Arsenal will beat BATE Borisov + Starting XI

Leave a reply

  1. Even though Arsenal have little to play for, much of the starting XI are playing for their futures
  2. Except for Theo Walcott, who is playing for a move to Everton
  3. BATE Borisov have so far won just 1 of their 5 Europa League games THIS CAMPAIGN
  4. Arsenal beat BATE Borisov in 4-2 in Belarus, without getting out for 2nd gear
  5. BATE Borisov’s have yet to win an away game this season in The Europa League. Their last away game in the competition finished in a 5-2 defeat at Koln
  6. In fact, in 20 European group stage games, BATE Borisov have won just 3 away games
  7. The bookmakers have Arsenal 2/5 favourites to win
  8. Alexander Hleb is the greatest BATE Borisov player of all time. Alexander Hleb
  9. The Belarusian league finished on November 26th. BATE Borisov won. Their players would have spent the last week and a half on the Krynitsa
  10. BATE stands for Borisov Automobile and Tractor Electronics. We are literally playing a team of farmers

Predicted Arsenal starting XI:

Ospina

Chambers Debuchy Holding

Nelson Willock Elneny Maitland-Niles

Wilshere Iwobi

Giroud

Keenos

Does anyone care that Arsenal are playing tonight?

Leave a reply

Genuinely, is anyone really that bothered that Arsenal are playing tonight?

We are already guaranteed to go through top of group in the Europa League. We are playing a bunch of Bulgarian (or somewhere in Eastern Europe) farmers who will probably do a shift on a building site in London today- or they would if they had CSCS.

Whilst BATA Borislav do have something to play for – 1 point splits the three awful teams in our group, from an Arsenal point of view, it is a meaningless game.

Occasionally when we play these sort of dead rubbers, the excitement is that we will get to see a few of the youngster who we have been hearing about. But we have been playing the likes of Ainsley Naitland-Miles and Reiss Nelson throughout the group stages. So there is little excitement surrounding these players.

Arsene Wenger could pull a rabbit out of the hat and play a complete XI of youth players, but the reality is the likes of Per Mertesacker, Mathieu Debuchy, Mo Elneny, Jack Wilshere and Olivier Giroud will start.

The game is expected to be the lowest ever attendance at the Emirates. I would be surprised if there are more than 40,000 people at the game. 30,000 would be my nearer estimate.

I myself am not going. Liam Gallagher is playing at Ally Pally Thursday night and I am going to that.

No one wants my ticket. Not even for free.

It is the type of game where you have to think the club need to do something about the ticketing. Even though mine is just £15.0 so price is not the problem, the demand is not there. Maybe the club give season ticket holders the option to donate and those tickets can go to the clubs foundation partners, such as the Willow Foundation, or to local schools.

My hope is that Arsenal do put on a performance, score 5 or 6 goals, make it worthwhile for the fans who have got themselves out of their warm abode. Do not do a repeat of Red Star Belgrade. A dull 0-0 in the freezing cold.

Personally, I m buzzing for LG.

Keenos

Arsenal look to sell top scorer in January

1 Reply

A decision has been made by Arsenal to sell Theo Walcott in January.

With 107 goals, Walcott is the top Arsenal scorer goal scorer in the current squad. Having joined the club back in January 2006, he is also the clubs longest serving player.

I know I am in the minority, but for years I have been a fan of Theo Walcott.

Injuries aside, he is one of the most underrated players, not only at Arsenal, but in the Premier League.

His issue is that he is not a pretty player. There are no step overs, he does not make the highlights reel, he is a very basic player who relies on pace and finishing.

Over the years, I have seen people rate the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Andros Townsend and Yannick Bolasie above Theo Walcott. These players are a lot better on the eye then Walcott, and someone like Bolasie shows more tricks in a single game than Walcott does in an entire season.

But then a trick, a bit of skill, is only worthwhile if it leads to a goal – whether it be a goal for the individual, or contributes to a team mate at the end. A bit of skill that leads to nothing is pointless. It is showing off. It is something for the highlight reel.

Take Bolasie. He shows incredible skill, step-overs, fakes, dummies, yet he has just 10 Premier League goals to his name in over 100 appearances. That is less than 1 goal in 10 games. What is the point of having that much ability if it leads to nothing?

Sadly, in the Banter Boys era of football, where fans get excited over a GIF of a player nut mugging an opponent, someone like Bolasie becomes vastly overatted, to the point sides are willing to spend £30million+ on a player who does not score, does not create, yet looks good on YouTube.

Theo Walcott, meanwhile, is not a player for YouTube, not a player for FIFA. He is much derided, called useless by many, and is currently struggling to make the England squad.

Walcott averaged 1 goal in 4 in the league, 1 in 3.5 in all competitions. These are statistics that very few wingers in the Premier League have battered in the last 10 years. Walcott has a better goals to games ratio than Arsenal legend Freddie Ljungberg.

Last year, Walcott scored 19 goals in 37 games. That was more than the likes of Raheem sterling, Marcus Rashford, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Danny Welbeck and Jesse Lingard. Yet these players are often put above Walcott as being better, being more influential adimitedly Sterling has been awesome this season.

The problem for Walcott this season is he has struggled to break into the first team, and has struggled to make an impact when playing for the second string in Europe and the League Cup.

With Arsenal playing 1 up top, and a narrow two behind him, Walcott does not have the attributes to play in any of the current 3 attacking positions.

Despite early protests that he was a striker, Theo Walcott is not an out and out striker. Whilst he can be dangerous through the middle, he does not have the hold up play to be up top on his own.

The current holders of the two behind a single striker are Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil. Walcott is no where near as good as these players. And in that position, he is also behind the likes of Alex Iwobi, Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere.

Walcott does not have the technique, close control or passing ability to perform in the tight areas that Ozil and Sanchez thrive in.

He is at his best with a bit of space to run in to, off the shoulder of the last man. That means playing out wide, drifting in the space between the opponent full back and centre back. The current 3421 that Arsenal are playing does not allow for a player to site out wide, off the shoulder of the last man.

Against Norwich, playing behind Olivier Giroud, Walcott was awful. He only looked a threat when he drifted outside and found some space – leading to a few marginal offside calls.

But in the 3421 formation, you can not afford one of the 2 behind the striker to want to spend 90% of his time advanced, on the last line. You need them to get involved in the build up play. To drop deep and create. This is not using Walcott to the best of his ability.

A bit like shoehorning midfielders into the wrong position, playing Walcott in the position he did against Norwich felt like a case of having to give Walcott game time rather than playing your best available players in their best position. The likes of Joe Willock or Reiss Nelson would have done a much better job in behind Giroud. Or push Jack Wilshere alongside Alex Iwobi in that position.

Playing behind a striker is just no Walcott’s game.

None of this means Walcott is a bad player. 19 goals last seasons shows he is a good player. All this shows it Walcott has struggled to find a place in the current team, with 3421 set to be a long term formation, Walcott has become surplus to requirements.

Rumours are already doing the rounds that Everton have enquired for the Englishman.

With Arsenal actively looking to sell him Walcott, the likelihood is every Premier League side from Burnley in 7th, down, would be interested in him. A proven Premier League player, he would make an instant impact and be worth 10 goals in the 2nd half of the season. That would be enough to push a team from relegation threatened to the safety of mid table.

There will be no shortage of interested parties in Theo Walcott.

Keenos

.